Published on: Friday, January 6, 2023
During the last few days of the end of the Michaelmas term, the School Prefects donned hard hats and high-vis to tour the new Sixth Form Centre. This was the first time pupils have been inside their building, allowing them to view the creative learning space, silent study area, conference room, new classrooms and, of course, the new café and social space.
The building is now structurally complete and the majority of the work inside is finished as well. The new IT equipment and solar panels are not yet in place, and there is still work to do to complete fitting out the café, landscaping the surrounding grounds and furnishing the interior.
There was a real sense of excitement among the pupils as they toured the building. The double-height atrium in particular impressed the visitors, even before its chandelier is installed.
Armine A, one of our school Vice-captains, said, "I’m really looking forward to being able to socialise in here. It will be great to have a space where the Sixth Formers can hang out in the evenings after prep, and to have food and drink available during the day is pretty cool too."
Maddy H added, "Having more silent study space is really important. The Library is very busy during the day now, so I hope this will give us more room to focus on our work for extended periods of time."
Oliver Ridley, the Head of Sixth Form, said, "We’ve all been thinking about and working on this project for such a long time that it was wonderful to see pupils in the building for the first time. Our Sixth Form needs more room as it expands, and to have a purpose-built, creatively designed academic and social space is a huge boon.
"It aims to facilitate adult and university-style working practices and provide an environment for productive, mind-expanding conversation. Even though the building was planned before the pandemic, it is exactly what we need to boost the collaborative and social aspects of the best possible Sixth Form learning experiences after all that independent study.
"The building will also give us a chance to foreground careers in the minds of our pupils. They will have much better access to Mr Mack and our Futures department in an environment which will help them discuss their projects and plans with knowledgeable and supportive adults and make considered decisions. I can’t wait now to get the building fully operational."